Several Democrats are off and running for president, including those who aren’t quite ready to admit it yet.
Being two years away from a presidential election usually sparks a mix of campaign announcements and exploratory efforts to see if a campaign is viable.
But this year, when several dozen Democrats are expected to make a play for the White House, there are already some new variations on how they’re making their intentions known.
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas, for example, has launched a freewheeling trip around the country. Most see it as a new way to test out his 2020 viability, but O’Rourke didn’t even mention taking on President Trump in a Medium post on Wednesday announcing his trip.
“Have been stuck lately. In and out of a funk,” O’Rourke wrote. “My last day of work was January 2nd. It’s been more than twenty years since I was last not working.”
“Maybe if I get moving, on the road, meet people, learn about what’s going on where they live, have some adventure, go where I don’t know and I’m not known, it’ll clear my head, reset, I’ll think new thoughts, break out of the loops I’ve been stuck in,” he added.
One part of O’Rourke’s adventure was showing a picture of himself getting ready to have his teeth cleaned. O’Rourke is widely expected to announce a run after he came close to defeating Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
Another likely Democratic candidate, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, cast the start of his public jaunt around the country as a “Dignity of Work” tour.
“‘Dignity of Work’ means hard work should pay off for everyone, no matter who you are or what kind of work you do,” Brown said this week.
But Brown’s tour is a bit less disguised than O’Rourke’s — Brown said he’s hitting the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina as part of his effort to talk about the “Dignity of work” – which just happens to have been his 2018 Senate re-election campaign slogan.
Two other big names have entered the race with the more traditional formation of exploratory committees.
“I’m launching an exploratory committee for president,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts announced in December. With that announcement, and the cracking open of a beer during an Instagram livestream, she was off and running.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York made a similar announcement this week on a late night talk show. But even after she said she was ready to file to create an exploratory committee, she tipped her hand as to what was really going on.
“I’m going to run for president of the United States because as a young mom, I’m going to fight for other people’s kids as hard as I would fight for my own, which is why I believe healthcare should be a right, not a privilege,” she said.
A few Democrats so far have come right out and said what’s on their mind. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii last week went with the straightforward approach. “I have decided to run,” she said.
Not to be outdone, former Obama administration Cabinet official Julian Castro declared a day later, “I am a candidate for president of the United States of America.”
